Jordan Gross to retire

Three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jordan Gross will announce his retirement after 11 NFL seasons - all with the Panthers - at a press conference at Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET.

"I've played a lot of football here, and I've seen a lot of guys come and a lot of guys go," Gross said. "Sometimes it ends well for guys, and sometimes it is not the ending they were looking for.

"I knew that this was the time for me to step away - happy, healthy and thinking fondly about my experience."

Gross, the eighth overall selection in the 2003 NFL Draft, went out in style, helping the Panthers reach the playoffs for the fifth time in franchise history - four of which included him. Gross started all 16 games in 2013, helping the offense rush for more than 100 yards in 14 of them.

But the 33-year old had been debating whether to call it a career, a process that continued when he traveled to Hawaii for his third Pro Bowl in the last six seasons. The Pro Bowl proved to be his last game.

"I didn't want to leave until I felt the team was back in a good position for sustained success," Gross said. "The team is there now. There is good, young leadership; there are talented players; and there are guys that really want to work hard and want to win."

Gross, a native of Idaho who attended the University of Utah, started all 167 regular season games played with the Panthers - the most starts in franchise history. He opened every game at right tackle as a rookie in 2003 when the Panthers advanced to Super Bowl XXXVIII and went on to spend three of his first five seasons on the right side while not missing a single game.

He permanently moved to left tackle in 2008 - the first season he made the Pro Bowl - and missed just nine games over his last six seasons, including the final seven of the 2009 season with a broken leg. In 2010, Gross won the Ed Block Courage Award for his successful return from the injury that included his second Pro Bowl appearance.

"I know what it takes to play the position of left tackle in the NFL, and I know that I have a standard that I've always kept up with," Gross said. "I know that I've kind of done my job to pass the torch. It's time for somebody else to carry it."